I'm Already There
by Designated Writer
Summary: Niles goes to Chicago to give a seminar. Daphne calls to tell him they are having a baby. Complete!
1. I'm Already There

**__**

I'm Already There

"I'm so sorry Daphne, please forgive me, this seminar couldn't have come at any worse time."

"It's alright my love. I'll call you on your cell phone as soon as I leave Dr. Stewart's office."

"Promise?"

"Promise," she gave him a long, wet kiss.

"Final boarding call for Flight 403 to Chicago, at gate 23."

Dr. Niles Crane grabbed his suitcase and briefcase and rushed off to his gate, blowing goodbye kisses to Daphne as he went.

"Welcome to Chicago, how can I help you?" the clerk smiled and asked from the other side of the counter.

"Thank you. My name is Dr. Niles Crane and I have a rental car reserved."

The clerk typed in the information into a computer in front of her. "We reserved you a Mercedes, as you requested."

The printer printed off some documents.

"Okay, Dr. Crane, I just need for you to sign this form and the credit card slip."

Niles signed the documents. "Alright, you're all set. Here are the keys, the car is midnight blue and parked in lot D, spot number 14."

Niles took the keys. "Thank you very much, have a nice day."

"No, thank you Dr. Crane and enjoy your stay in Chicago."

"Oh, thank you Dr. Stewart! I can't wait to tell Niles the news!" She beamed and squealed as she hopped off the examining table.

"I'm sure he will share your enthusiasm."

Gathering her belongings, "you have no idea Dr. Stewart. I'll see you soon. Correct that," she said as she patted her tummy, "we'll ALL see you soon."

Once out of Dr. Stewart's office, Daphne pulled out her cell phone.

Anxiously tapping her foot impatiently, Daphne waited for the call to go through to Niles' cell phone.

"Damn! It's still turned off!" She looked at her watch, Niles should be off the plane by now, but he did have to pick up his rental car. She headed to her own car and got in. With Niles out of town, Frasier and Martin had invited Daphne over for dinner that evening. Before leaving to go to Frasier's she debated on whether or not she should share the wonderful news with Frasier and Martin.

After all, it just wasn't her good news it was theirs.

"Oh what the hell, I'm sure Niles would understand," she reasoned. Also, she would try Niles' cell phone once more before going up to Frasier's apartment.

Once she arrived in the Elliot Bay Towers guest parking lot, she pulled out her phone again and punched in Niles' number and prayed it would now be in service.

"Daphne?" Niles eagerly answered at the other end.

Daphne had it all planned out how she would tell Niles.

"That's right Daddy, its Mummy..." she smiled and started to cry a little.

There was silence at the other end.

Stopping at the red light that was now before him, Niles couldn't help but grin. He couldn't wait for this seminar to be over and be on the next plane to Seattle.

"Niles? Love? Are you still there?"

An elated Niles was fighting back his own tears of joy. "I-I can't believe it. I-I'm...we're..."

At that exact same moment, 3,000 some miles away, an eerie chill ran down the course of Daphne Crane's spine.

She involuntarily shuddered.

"Niles? Are you still there?"

Her questions were meant with a deadly silence.

Daphne hung up the phone and slowly made her way to the elevator and up to the nineteenth floor.

"And then his phone just went dead," Daphne explained to Frasier, Martin and Roz.

It was a full house at Frasier's. Frederick was in town visiting. They also had invited Roz and Alice over for dinner.

Frasier went over to join his sister-in-law on the couch. "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. He might have gone under a tunnel, or the call just got dropped. My phone does that to me all the time. Especially the further I am out of range."

"And you know Niles, he'll call you back the very instant he gets a signal." Martin added.

"I suppose you're right," Daphne agreed, but didn't really sound convinced.

Sensing her fear, Roz went over to get her mind off the call and to focus on the awesome news she had shared right before.

Coming over and sitting next to the other side of Daphne and an upbeat tone, Roz said, "It's too bad Niles couldn't have been here with you when you found out."

"I know. He felt so badly," she rubbed her mid-section and continued, "but, he'll be here for the more important things."

"So, do you guys want to find out the sex of the baby or be surprised? I just had to know what Alice was."

"We never fully discussed it. I know I want to know, but Niles did say in passing once that if I were ever pregnant, he would want to be surprised. How about you Frasier? Did you and Lilith know?"

Frasier smiled and remembered the day Lilith told him she was pregnant with Frederick. Frasier chuckled. "Actually, that's quite a humorous story."

Martin laughed, knowing the story all too well, "Fredericka Crane."

A look of horror came over Frederick's face.

"This is not going to embarrass me, is it?" Frederick asked, recalling all the numerous times both his Dad and Mother had embarrassed him in the past.

"Of course not son. First off, let me say, yes Daphne. Lilith and I found out, because we both wanted to know."

"Not that it did much good," Martin chuckled.

"Dad, please."

"Sorry Fras..." Martin got up and headed into the kitchen for another beer.

Frasier went on telling his story.

Time went by ever so slowly, it seemed to Daphne. She half-heartedly listened to Frasier's story; while the other half of her heart was listening, praying, for her cell phone or Frasier's phone to ring.

"But the clincher was, he had told us Frederick was a girl and up until the very moment he came out of Lilith..."

"So I was almost a Fredericka?" Frederick asked.

"That's right son," Frasier smiled.

Martin, who had just come back in the room, chimed in, "whether you do or don't, that's between you and Niles. I'm just hoping its girl."

Daphne smiled and wiped away at a tear that she hadn't realized was falling down her cheek.

"Niles wants a girl too," she whispered.

As if on cue, the phone rang. The ring caused her to jump.

"It's probably Niles, why don't you answer it." Frasier suggested.

Making her way to the phone, the eerie chill from earlier came back. Again, she shuddered.

"Daphne? Are you alright?" Roz asked, detecting her shudder.

She smiled and covered "of course I am," and took a deep breath before answering.

"Well hello there Daddy, when you comin' home?" she asked in her bravest voice.

A tear slid down his cheek. He knew his time was short, but there were just so many things he needed to say to their child...and to her...one last time.

"Daphne?" his voice was barely a whisper and sounded very distant and slurred.

Detecting Niles' slur, her nervousness kicked into overdrive and she rambled, not allowing Niles to get a word in, afraid what his interruption might reveal.

"Love? Did your Yale chaps get you bombed? Sounds like it to me. Well, I hope they at least got you back to your hotel room in one piece... "

"P-put me on speaker..." Niles managed to interrupt.

"On speaker? How come?"

Niles only answered with a "please."

Daphne put the receiver to her chest. "Excuse me, everyone. Niles wants to be on speaker..."

Before the room fell silent, Niles could hear Alice and Frederick laughing in the background. Knowing he would never hear his own child's laughter, a lone tear slid down Niles' cheek

Again, she strongly felt something was amiss.

"You're on love, go on."

"Put the receiver to your stomach, I want to talk to directly to our child." He requested.

"Niles, what's wrong?" she gently pressed.

His only answer again was, "please."

Sensing his urgency, she did as he requested. "Go on love..."

Fighting back his own tears, he said the first thing that came to his mind.

Daphne's face grew with more concern, as did everyone else's as Niles spoke from his heart and to his unborn child.

He concluded with an "I love you forever."

Something was wrong, terribly wrong. Daphne insisted Niles tell her what was wrong.

"Niles? Tell me, what is going on with you?" she pleaded.

Collecting the little strength he had left, "put the receiver next to your ear."

Without thinking or questioning, she put the receiver next to her ear.

It was getting harder and harder for him to speak and to fight the encroaching darkness.

Mere seconds passed, but to Daphne and everyone else, it seemed like eternity.

Breaking the dreaded and deafening silence, "Niles, love? Are you still there?"

Everyone was shocked by what came next.

An unfamiliar woman's voice came on.

"I'm very sorry Mrs. Crane, he only has a little time left."

The nurse placed the phone back up to Niles' ear.

Fighting back more tears, he once again spoke from his heart and said the first thing that came to his mind.

Every breath, every word, was a hard fought battle now.

He never cheated in his whole life.

But this one time, he wanted to do nothing more.

He remembered his Dad telling war stories on how he 'cheated' death several times in Korea because he had something to live for. That someday, he would be a husband and father and, hopefully a grandfather.

But unlike Martin, there would be no cheating for Niles, and very soon, his battle would be over.

He summoned the last ounce of strength he had left in him and whispered, barely audible.

"I love you baby Crane, and, I love your mommy. I love you my love. I love you Daphne Moon Crane."

Tears flowed freely down Daphne's cheeks. "I love you too Niles Crane."

Shortly after, there was nothing but more silence. Several moments later the same female voice came back on the phone.

"I'm terribly sorry Mrs. Crane, he's gone."

"We haven't touched his room, so you'll find it exactly how he left it." The motel manager said as he unlocked the door.

She paused before entering.

"Daphne?" Frasier laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to do this. I can pack up his things and you can wait for me in the lobby."

She slowly let go of a deep breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

"No," she said determined. "I promised myself and to Niles..." she looked down and patted her stomach, "and our unborn child, that I would do this. I can't let them down."

Frasier smiled, admiring her strength. He took her hand into his and said, "let's go."

Not surprisingly, the room was immaculate and a testament to who Niles Crane was--a clean and neat freak extraordinare.

To the unknown observer, it looked as if no one had stayed there, much less, had unpacked.

She went over to the closet and slid open the door. Hanging methodically, just like at home, were his suits, all hung alphabetically by color in one corner. The other end hung his slacks, also arranged alphabetically.

She noticed Frasier was busy collecting all of Niles' notes, papers and his presentation he was going to give.

She decided to do the slacks. She couldn't help but smile as she ran her hand down one of his immaculately pressed pair of slacks and carried it over to the suitcase that Frasier had laid open on one side of the bed.

She let out a small giggle as she got lost in the memory.

"What is it?" Frasier asked.

"I was just remembering Niles," she smiled.

"What were you remembering?" He invited her to share the memory of his little brother with him.

It was Valentine's Day a few years back and before they had gotten together, and Niles was living at the Shangri La. Frasier had graciously loaned Niles the use of his apartment for a date he had with the president of their wine club. After noticing the wrong bottle of wine had been sent and correcting it, what followed would be a calamity and comedy of errors for him.

What started out as an attempt to iron out a miniscule crease in his trouser pant leg, included a "spray painting" of his older brother's living room (and not to mention Niles himself and Eddie) with fire extinguisher foam, and concluded with the burning of Frasier's couch. Which incidentally, escaped the 'spray painting'.

She could only chuckle as she remembered coming home from dinner with Martin (Mr. Crane back then) to find a passed out, sprawled out, and pantless Niles at the front door (wide open).

Had it turned out, Niles had cut himself with the scissors. That and coupled with Niles' strong aversion to blood, it was an accident (literally) waiting to happen.

Frasier and Daphne shared the laugh, the memory. Soon after, the memory faded, and reality again faced them, and the motel room grew into an uneasy silence.

In an attempt to break up the uneasiness Frasier added a footnote to the memory.

"You know, that couch cost me close to $1200 to repair."

Daphne gave a small smile and continued packing Niles' suits.

She started thinking what she wanted to bury him in. Niles would wear a suit. He was always most sexy to her when he wore, and now somewhat fitting, black.

She had to bury him with his suspenders on. Not remembering what shirts he had packed, she went to the "B's" to see if he had brought his ultra blue shirt (which always brought out the blueness and sparkle in his eyes she thought) and tie.

As she searched, she again was lost in a memory of Niles. This time she reminisced about a time when she saw him in this outfit.

Niles had just been hired to be a critic for some magazine and had come over to borrow one of Frasier's books. He had found out that Frasier had whined and complained to Kenny and had insisted he be given a similar show.

She recalled vividly how upset Niles was that afternoon upon finding out.

Though she never would have shared this back then, or even now, she felt for Niles that day. From that day on, she had a better understanding of Niles, and how hard it really was for him to constantly be living in his older brother's shadow. That no amount of success or otherwise would ever be able to eclipse Frasier's popularity and the newfound closeness he shared with Martin.

"Daphne?" Frasier called out to her, jarring her loose from her memory and thoughts. "I hadn't realized how late it was, we have to go..." He stopped, for he was still in his own state of shock over his little brother's untimely death.

"We have to go make the arrangements for Niles to be flown back to Seattle with us. Again, if you want to stay here, I can go and make all the arrangements, and come by here when I'm done," he offered.

Again, putting her bravest face forward, "No. Let's go. I'll pack up the last of his things when we get back."

A couple of draining hours later, they returned to the motel room to gather up the last few of his things.

"It's been a rather long afternoon Daph. Why don't you lie down on the bed and take it easy for awhile? I'll order us some room service."

She couldn't argue. It was a most exhausting day, and sadly, there would be plenty more to come. With flying back to Seattle, planning his funeral, and then of course, saying her goodbye.

She went over to the king-sized bed and laid down.

There, laid neatly at the foot of the bed was his black dressing gown. She couldn't resist and pulled it on over her and wrapped herself in it. She instantly caught a faint whiff of his after-shave and could almost feel his love and warmth surround her.

It was almost as if he were in bed with her again. As she lay on the bed, she noticed a small picture set beside his prescription bottle (Niles had to take daily medication for his congenital heart murmur) on the night table. It was their 'wedding' picture, taken in Reno, shortly after they had gotten married.

Once more, she closed her eyes and remembered. A memory that was almost a secret and one that was very cherished and special and was shared between only herself and Niles. One in which only two people, and now sadly, one, could remember...

_"I, Daphne Moon, do take thee, Niles Crane, as my husband. I promise you my fidelity and my support, my laughter and my tears, my constant friendship and my unending love as long as we both shall live."_

"I, Niles Crane, do take thee, Daphne Moon, as my wife. I vow to you my fidelity and my support, my honor and my respect, my honesty and my protection. You are my comfort, my joy, and my one true love. I will cherish you all the days of my life and treasure the journey that has brought us to this most wonderful perfect place."

Then, finally, totally overwhelmed with grief, pain and the love she and Niles shared, she broke down.

"Niles...my love..." she wailed.

Frasier rushed over to her side and drew her into a big bear hug and held her close. He soothed her back and comforted her in hushed tones.

"It's okay Daphne. Just let it all out. You've been so strong for everyone. Me, Dad...yourself...your child...Niles..."

She sat before the closed doors for a long time. Just like she had done every day the past week. Before long, her mind drifted and she found herself remembering Niles.

_"Daphne? I want to apologize for the other night. I was rude, and disrespectful, and I'm sorry I hurt you."_

"Apology accepted."

"Thank you."

"You know, I was just about to make myself some dinner. Would you like to join me?

"I would love that! Actually, wait, Daphne? I'm going to pass on dinner."

"Oh, it's no trouble."

"Oh, I know that, it's just that...I don't really care for your cooking."

"You what?"

"Well, you're not the best cook in the world. In fact, you're not very good at cooking. Bad, BAD cook! You okay?"

"How could I be, after that horrible thing you just said to me?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, darling. I just want to show you I see you the way you really are."

"And who I am is a bad cook, is that what you're saying?"

"No, that's not fair. I, I thought this was what you wanted."

"Well it still hurts. I have got my feelings, you know. I thought you loved my cooking. Well, you certainly could have handled this better."  
  
_"Well, then...I don't know what you want. I can't read minds, you know! And by the way, neither can you!"_

"Are you saying you don't think I'm psychic?"

"Not if you thought I loved your cooking!"

"Well, I'm sorry it's not that hoighty toighty crap you eat!"

"What does that mean? You, you think I'm pretentious?"

"You'd eat a worm if I gave it a French name!"

"Well fine! If that's the way you feel, maybe I'll just have dinner by myself!"

"Fine! It'll spare you the hell that's my cooking!"

"I am so sorry! I love you so much! I didn't mean any of those things."

"Yes you did. And I did too. You're a pretentious snob with your wine and your opera."

"Well...you never give opera a chance! You're too judgmental."

"And you're a clean freak."

"Well...I hate your unicorn collection."

"And I hate that your closet is bigger than mine!

"Well...you're too tall!"

"You're too short."  
  
As the memory started to fade, she touched her lips with her fingers. The same lips that he kissed so passionately. It was the first time they had ever made love. She giggled, remembering the aftermath. Instead of basking in the afterglow, she recalled working feverishly with Niles to glue back together some of the African statues they inadvertently knocked over.

From that day on, she could never dust or look at those same statues the same way.

Okay, she mentally ordered herself. No more stalling. Not that remembering Niles was stalling.

She took a deep breath and placed sweaty and shaking palms around each of the two doorknobs. She had no idea what she was afraid of. Behind the doors were things that belong to Niles.

She hadn't opened the doors since she picked out his burial suit, and truth be told, she didn't even open the doors then, she had Frasier do it for her. And just last week, Frasier offered to go through Niles' clothes and pack those up for her. She declined his offer, saying it was something she had to do and she decided she would do that next weekend. This weekend she wanted to focus on his more personal items.

Taking another deep breath, she released both her breath and the door latches, and pulled the closet doors towards her.

Just like everything else in Niles Crane's life, his closet was no exception, it was beyond orderly and neat. She knelt down and started with the boxes on the floor.

She had decided that whenever their child was old enough, she would go through these things again with their child, and let them have anything they wanted of their Daddy's.

She first pulled out a shoebox, and though Niles had all his shoes in a separate part of his closet, she still expected to find a pair of shoes in the box. To her surprise, it contained a stack of letters, all signed by a 'Dora'. She rubbed her stomach and spoke to their child. "That was your Daddy's pen pal from Costa Rica." She put the lid back on the box and set it off to one side. She reached in and pulled out a slightly bigger box and opened it up, as she continued to talk with their child.

"My, what do we have here? It looks like its every report card, academic report, test result your Daddy ever received. Your Daddy was a very smart. He had an IQ 156, he was a genius."

All the reports etc. were organized (for Niles could never just "toss things in loose" even if it was a box of papers) by grade.

She quietly read through some of the comments that his teachers had made on his report cards. Many said the same thing _"superior language skills"_, _"very bright_ _young boy, but afraid to speak up in class", "extremely shy, social skills below_ _normal for age level", "spends lunch hour reading in library instead of eating." "Quick_ _study...excellent sight reading skills and superior piano playing skills-should do this for a living."_

Mixed in with the reports were several school age pictures. Even as a small boy, he was small boned, skinny and pale, and short for his age.

Near the bottom of the box was his first book report which of course got an "A". From the date on the paper, Niles had to have written it in second grade. It was titled "Jung at Heart" and was about Carl Jung. Daphne softly chuckled.

Carefully, she placed all the documents back into their respective years, and set it off to the side.

A much bigger box was next. She could barely push it, and in her condition, she dare not try and lift it. She did wonder aloud how Niles ever moved the box, considering she had twice the upper body strength than he did. She undid the box lid flaps and again, found the contents to be meticulously organized. This time it was by year.

"These are all your Daddy's journals." They started way back to when Niles was only five. It would take a long time to read through all these. There was a little over 35 years worth of journal reading to do. She removed all the journals from year five and placed them on the bed behind her. Right before closing the flaps back, a piece of paper stuck out. It seemed like it had no real home or journal to which it belonged so she pulled it out.

She gasped and put her hand over her mouth. It was a piece of sheet music. It was a song written by Niles and it was entitled, simply, 'Daphne's Song'. She held the music close to her heart and went downstairs to Niles' study and to his piano.

Slowly and painfully, she picked at the song, note by note. Before long she gave up. Her inept playing was ruining his song, she slammed down on the keys in frustration and promised herself that the next time she saw Frasier, she would have him play her, her song.  
_  
Niles stood over Daphne has she was trying to play a simple scale on the piano. As she slowly played each note, he encouraged her forward, "Yes... yes... yes..." she then goofed when she hit two keys together, "No." he informed her._

She stood up in frustration, "I don't like this exercise, it's too hard!" she pouted like a schoolgirl.

"No, no, no, no, you're doing fine, you just have to loosen up. Look, I'll show you. See?" He lovingly reassured her and played a fluid ripple of notes with one hand.

"It's just a little finger exercise."

Funny how Niles could always get her aroused. She fondled his ear. "I know another little finger exercise..." she flirted.  
  
_Niles tried to stay on task. "Daphne, you're not paying attention."_

She slid next to him on the piano bench and suggested. "Yes, I am. Why don't we just cancel the lesson and spend the day together?"

"No, no. What kind of teacher would I be if I did that?"

Not to be deterred, she tried again. "Oh, that's right. You're the teacher..."

Suggestively, she struck a prim and penitent pose. "...And I'm the naughty student who wouldn't do her homework."

Niles looked at her for a long moment and then grabbed her passionately in his arms. He bent his own leg over the bench and half-raised his knee and plunked it down loudly on the keys.  
  
The doorbell rang, announcing someone's arrival and interrupting the memory.

"Daphne? Are you home? It's me, Roz."

All she could do was smile. Just as she did when Roz interrupted the last time.

She looked skyward. "You and your strategically placed songbook." She said aloud.

She wiped away a tear she didn't realize that had fallen, and walked towards the front door and let Roz in.

"I was beginning to think you weren't home," Roz took off her coat. "We were having tea this afternoon, right?"

Daphne took her coat. "Of course we are."

On their way to the kitchen they took the long way and went back through the study.

Daphne went over to the piano and did the finger exercise perfectly.

Later that night she couldn't sleep and went to the kitchen and got some milk and cookies.

She wandered back into the study.

This time she went over and sat behind Niles' desk. She placed the plate of cookies and glass down. "This desk was very special to your Daddy..." she ran her hand over the top of the desk and explained to their unborn child. "It had belonged to Grammy Crane, or your Daddy's Mummy."

She removed the key from the skinny top drawer. He only locked one drawer- the bottom right one. The drawer contained files of session notes of several of Niles' former patients.  
_  
"Is something wrong?" he asked, worried._

"Well sort of..."It's about Heather Murphy."

"Daphne, I've told you. I cannot talk about my patients," he reminded her firmly, but lovingly.

She took a breath. It was now or never.

"You don't have to. I found out by myself," she finally spoke.

"Did you look in my briefcase? You read her file!" Niles' voice rose and he slammed his office door shut.

All she could manage was a nod. She nervously gulped, and tried to smooth things over. "I know, I know, it's bad."

But Niles would hear none of it. He was clearly getting upset.

"Those files are confidential. How could you?"

I've gone this far, she reasoned, I might as well go all the way.

"Look, before you get going, you should probably know..." she began her second confession within minutes.

Again, he would hear none of it, and accepted no excuses.

"No, there is no excuse. That is the worse thing you could have done!"

"You would think so."

"What else did you do?" he asked, almost afraid of what could come next.

She was afraid to confess, but even more afraid not to. She had to know what kind of threat this woman was to her and to her relationship with Niles. She nervously gulped and rattled off her confession quickly.

_"I went down to her office to see what she looks like. Well, she never found out who I was or why I was there. I know it doesn't make it okay, but I was just so worried and I had to find out who she was and, I'm so sorry, I feel so ashamed. It was all Roz's idea!"_

Niles looked as if had been punched in the stomach. All the color (or the little color he did have) ran from his face. He went over to the chair behind his desk and slumped down in it. He was speechless.

"Look, I know you're angry, but Niles, please, say something," she pleaded.

Gathering his words carefully before he spoke,

"Anger doesn't begin to describe it. You have violated this person's privacy. If she found out, I... they could suspend my license."

She never thought about that. "I am so sorry," was all she could say.

"And you don't trust me. How could you possibly think there could be somebody else?" he finally said.

"Because I was somebody else. You were married to two other women while you claimed to be in love with me. Now that we're together how can I be sure, really sure, that there won't ever be another 'somebody else'? "

There she did it. She told Niles' how she really felt. How insecure she has felt ever since they got together, but was always to afraid to tell him.

The accusation caught him off guard and he quickly defended himself.

"Because I would never..." He stopped, and then let her words really sink it. She was right. This time, he carefully chose his words. His words that would reassure her that he loved her, and only her.

"Because this time it's different. Our love is different. It's not based on somebody's expectations or... or anything I'm supposed to be. When I was with Maris, or with Mel, I found myself thinking about you. Going about my day or even when I was in a session, I found myself thinking about you. Well, now we're together. I find myself thinking about you. It's not going to stop."

She was convinced and drew him into a hug. She knew he was still upset with her, and rightly so, but, she knew he would forgive her, and more importantly, he did really love her, and only her.

__

It was a pleasant day in May has Daphne made her now weekly pilgrimage to Seattle's oceanfront Gasworks Park. The day was unusually sunny with only a lone cloud or two dotting the blue sky. A gusty breeze was blowing in from the water and it flowed freely through her hair.

She found 'their' bench and was relieved no one was sitting on it.

She sat down and closed her eyes. She always made a point to start with some memory of Niles. One that she would put in a journal (in fact, she was using the last journal Niles had started) later that evening and someday give to their child. That journal, along with all the others that Niles had written, she planned on giving to their child to read, so they could know what an incredible and loving man he was. And of course, by keeping the journal she couldn't forget him either.

Daphne made a small smile. Another story was coming to her, and yet another to share with their child about their Daddy.

She was remembering how Niles loved windy days, cause they allowed him an 'excuse' to leave work early. His 'excuse'? To go fly a kite.

She recalled one of their first dates-a gusty afternoon much like this one and at this very park. He had showed her how to a fly kite. Ever since Niles was a young lad, he had always loved to fly his kites. His boyhood charm and innocence was one of many things that she loved most about him.

Like after every memory, she didn't bother to wipe away at her tears and let them freely spill out and rubbed her stomach.

"Hi Niles. My Love. I love you and miss you dearly. I saw Dr. Stewart this morning. He said he could tell by my ultrasound what sex the baby was. I was tempted to ask him, but I remembered how you wanted to be surprised, so, I said I didn't want to know. The baby is healthy and strong..."

After talking to Niles she got up to leave. With the warm glow of the sun on her cheek, a little wisp of wind blew through her hair. She smiled as she recalled Niles' last and only words to his, their, unborn child.

To Be Continued...


	2. In Memory of Niles

**__**

In Memory of Niles

"Keep looking Daph, I know it's got to be around here somewhere," Martin said as he moved some more stuff around the nearly full storage room.

"Thanks for helping me with this Martin," Daphne thanked as she looked behind an old card table that Martin used to use for his all night poker games before he moved in with Frasier.

"It was no problem, really. In fact, I'm pretty excited. When Lilith was pregnant with Frederick, they were living in Boston so I never had the opportunity to take part in her pregnancy. Hester and I always wanted grandchildren, and it was really hard to have them 3,000 some miles away. It's different this time of course, since you and Niles are here and….."

He stopped and quickly looked away, wishing he could take back his last comment. "I'm sorry Daph," he apologized.

Daphne cast her eyes down at her ever-expanding belly. "It's okay."

She ran her hand over her belly. "I wish Daddy was here too."

A few minutes passed and neither said anything, respecting the other and their pain.

Finally breaking the silence was Martin.

"So Daph, what made you decide to tackle this project? Wouldn't it have been easier to just buy a new crib? I mean, even if we can find it, its going to need a lot of work to get it ready."

"I know, but..." it was now her turn to get very quiet and reflective. "Niles was actually going to it."

"Niles?" Martin chuckled and asked incredulously.

Before she knew it, Niles was alive again, at least in her memory.

__

"Reminds me of when I used to mess about in the garage with me brothers. Used to build all sorts of things. Splints, crutches, peg legs."

"Still, you're very sweet to help Dad out. I don't think I could take his bossiness."

"Oh, he's not so bad. Could you hand me a rag?" she requested of Niles.

He scanned the room, "Uh...sure" upon finding one; he handed it over to her. "Here you are."

"Thanks."

Niles was clearly not in the mood to do woodworking, and tried to shift her interests elsewhere.

"So, um, any interest in sneaking off to your room while the foreman's away?" he invited.

"That sounds lovely, but first I have to get these pads on. Can you press on this for a moment?"

Tentative, Niles did as instructed, and leaned over and pressed on the designated pad. "Yeah, no problem." _Still not deterred, "__Maybe later we'll try out my 'Wagner for Lovers' CD." He hinted and leaned in to give her a kiss._

She was totally oblivious and focused at the task at hand. "I need another rag." She ordered.

"Oh, coming up... a rag." He _tried to grab one all while keeping one hand on the pad._

"_Could you grab me some sandpaper, too?"_

Niles f_umbled around trying to find the sandpaper. "__Uh, yeah, sure. Of course."_

"Don't press too tight or the pad will slide. Careful, even pressure." She took his hand into hers and fi_xed his hand.__ "Like this." She instructed._

He smiled and remembered another time when she took his hand, that time she led him into her bedroom to fold laundry and he commented on how he had heard that 'its lovely this time of year.' But his smile quickly turned into a frown when he also remembered that he folded the laundry wrong too.

He started to feel inferior again. Like he had felt for most of his life. First (and technically still did), with Frasier, and then with Maris.

"Yeah, that's-that's what I'm doing." He stammered and defended himself.

"Well, then why is glue squirting out?" she criticized. Without missing a beat, she barked out her next order. "I need the rag."

Niles was getting more frustrated, but continued to assist. "Okay." _He found yet another rag and handed it to her and commented. "__Never said I was good at carpentry."_

"Carpentry?" she echoed. "This is gluing felt. Can you hand me the square?" she said borderline patronizing.

"Ah, yes. Here's the square."

"No, no, no," she _pointed "__That one. Why is the pad hanging off the side?"_

Exasperated and desperate for understanding, Niles pleaded his case.

"Well, I think that it slipped when I was handing you the rags and the sandpaper and the square, and by the way, you're welcome."

Her love's irritation still hadn't fully soaked in, which was made clear when she demanded, "By the way, still waiting for that sandpaper."

That was the last straw. "Okay, let's stop."

He hadn't felt this small since he was with Maris. He walked over and sat on the coffee table and took a deep breath. "This is as bad as working with Dad" (or living with Maris) he mentally added.

She looked over at Niles. He sat like a scared little boy who was desperately trying to win his parents approval and failing miserably. For the first time since they started, she saw the genuine hurt in his eyes.

__

Softer, and this time more sympathetically, "Look, Niles, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I'm just trying to get this done and get it done well. Okay?"

She realized he needed more then an explanation, he needed reassurance. She had forgotten how insecure he really was at times. "I love you," she told him sincerely.

The sound of Martin shouting jolted her back to realty.

"Hey Daph! Over here, I think I found it."

-------

Later that evening while working on the crib in the nursery, Daphne stopped to take a break. She went downstairs to make some tea and get some cookies. While waiting for the teakettle to whistle, she started to remember Niles again. It was when she first started to feel something for him, but at that the same time trying to fight them.

__

Niles was over at Frasier's to make a special birthday dinner for Mel and she had agreed to assist. Before too long, it was almost as if they were playing doctor, and she was his nurse and the dish was their 'patient'.

Niles was hard at work on his dish.

"_Whisk."_

She handed the whisk to him and he whisked 

"Spoon."

Again, she _handed over the requested object, and __he stirred._

"Cheesecloth." This time she _wiped the sweat off his brow, as he tasted the dish the oven rang._

"Perfect timing. Daphne, open the oven."

She did as instructed as he placed the pan into the oven 

"Shall I close, Dr. Crane?" she teased.

"Please."

S_he closed the oven door._

__

"Do you think it'll be all right?"

"It's out of our hands now, Daphne."

They shared a laugh as Daphne playfully hit him over the head with the oven gloves.

"_Thank you for your help."_

"Oh, my pleasure. I haven't had this much fun in the kitchen since your brother caught his tie in the pasta machine."

They shared another laugh at Frasier's expense.

"Oh, and the real fun's just beginning - clean-up."

Niles then went to pick up a pan and yelped as he scolded himself.

"_Oh, you silly sod, here, run it under some cold water, I'll fetch the aloe cream."_

He ran the palm of his left hand _under the water._

"_Come here," she called him over to her and carefully dried the palm of his hand before applying the rub. "This'll help," she commented while applying the rub._

"I can't believe I just did that," he shook his head, disgusted with himself.

"Oh, I do that sort of thing all the time. You must be careful; those panhandles get awfully hot."

"Oh well, not anymore, it's got a protective coating of skin on it."

He attempted to joke, but _Daphne was getting a little carried away whilst she rubbed the cream in and never heard it._

"_Just give it a minute to absorb."_

"That'll be fine. I'm feeling better already," he informed her.

However, it wasn't only the cream that was now _completely absorbed, it was also Daphne herself._

__

"Thanks, Daphne."

Talk about your bad timings, why did Martin have to enter then?

"_Hey, what's up?"_

She felt like she was a little girl again and had her hand caught in the cookie jar. "Nothing. Why should anything be up? Dr. Crane burnt his hand and I was tending to it, that's all..."

-------

The whistle brought her back. She finished making her tea and then headed back into the nursery and sat in the rocking chair and slowly rocked back and forth. She had another one of Niles' journals. She made it a bedtime story ritual. Someday, when their child got older, she would read these entries again, which recounted their courtship, in their Daddy's words. She pulled out the makeshift bookmark, a dove's feather, and began reading aloud to their unborn child.

__

"Let me get you a blanket, you'll catch a chill, darling. Get you all comfy." He got up to retrieve a blanket.

All she wanted to do when she got to The Montana was stuff tissues up her nose and pray for a quick death, but that quickly changed. Not escaping her attention was how attentive, how caring Niles was. Which being the germ-a-phobic that she knew him to be, she was touched. It was in that singular act, she never loved him more than she did right then and there. Wanting to show Niles her appreciation she shared when he returned with her blanket.

"I don't know what I did to deserve you."

He knelt in front of her, tucking the blanket in and around her. "You kidding? I got the better end of this deal."

"Oh, yeah, look at me: nose running, hair a mess, I must look a real fright."

"You know, it's funny. You could take a million years to plan the perfect evening, and you'd never come up with this. Daphne, I have to ask you a question."

Damn! She inwardly swore. Here Niles was, being the perfect gentleman as always and I had to…

"Hold on." She grabbed a tissue and blew her nose, long and loud. Daphne stopped, took a breath and blew some more. Upon its completion, "you were saying?"

Niles reached in his pocket and took out a ring, and fought back his own tears and mustered his bravest voice. "Daphne Moon, will you, and your beautiful toes and your exquisite ankles and your precious knees, elbows and arms and fingers, shoulders..."

He took a deep breath and held his breath.

"Will you marry me?" and _held up the ring_

Even though she knew the question was coming at the end of his little speech, she was still breathless with excitement.

"Oh, Niles! Of course I will." She cried tears of joy.

Then he cried with her and pulled her into a hug. After breaking off the hug, he slid the ring onto her finger.

She closed the journal and looked at her ring and added a footnote to the entry.

"Did you know your Daddy and I have the exact same ring size?" she smiled and continued with her story. "You know what your Daddy didn't write? He caught Mommy's flu a few days later and was even sicker than she was. But your Daddy never complained. And then it was my turn to take care of him."

-------

The next day, she went to work on the crib again but needed a few more tools. She went to one of the hallway closets to see if she could locate the missing tools she needed. If she couldn't find any, she would just have to borrow Martin's. She knelt down and moved a few things around and found something else.

Her eyesight clouded over, as tears were now falling freely down her cheeks. She pulled the item that had belonged to her noble savage, close to her.

__

Clean-shaven and sporting his now traditional suit, Niles entered Frasier's apartment for his lunch date with Daphne. Upon entering, he greeted,

"_Afternoon, Daphne, Dad."_

His change in dress and appearance didn't escape her attention and she inquired as he hung up his coat.

"What happened to my noble savage?"

Coming to join Daphne on the couch, Niles shared his story. "I'll tell you what happened. Roz told me about this wonderful nude beach, so I went down there this morning to check it out for us. Well, it was so peaceful I decided to do my sunrise Tai Chi. Have my naked body caressed by the rosy fingers of the new dawn. I left my clothing and my cares in the car, walked down to the beach and settled in for my first exercise, 'Grasping the Bird's Tail.' "

__

Before continuing, he raised his arms in a martial arts pose. Daphne nodded in understanding and mirrored him.

"_Just at that moment, the sun peeked over the mountaintops, illuminating not only my splendid nakedness, but the bus for the Christian Women's Society."_

Martin was in disbelief and almost choked on his deviled egg sandwich. "They went to a nude beach?"

"No," Niles answered in the negative, "and neither did I. The next few minutes are a blur, as I zig-zagged my way back to the car, while being pelted with driftwood and Bibles." With a hint of sadness, he confessed. "Needless to say, Island Niles died on that beach."

__

Daphne tried her best not to laugh. She supportively wrapped her arm around him, which allowed his head to fall on her shoulders. She hugged him maternally. Still trying to fend off her laughter, _she asked, sympathetically,_

"Oh, honey. Will he ever be back?"

"Maybe at Christmas."

She sniffed and wiped away at some of her tears with the hammock. She then grinned and said aloud, "and true to his word, Island Niles came for Christmas."

-------

"Thanks for meeting me here," Daphne said as they entered Café Nervosa.

"Sure. No problem at all. Glad to." Frasier, Martin and Roz all replied.

"How about that table up there?" Roz suggested.

"So, Daphne, what's this all about?" Frasier asked.

"I'm trying to put together a journal for our child that will contain our favorite memories of Niles."

"What a lovely idea Daph," they all agreed.

"I've already entered some of me own, and I was hoping you might have some too."

Roz started to laugh. "Oh, I've got one that has to go in there."

Daphne pulled out a pen, "go ahead."

"Remember that time when Frasier's mentor, Dr. Tewksbury was in town?" Roz began.

"_Niles!"_

"Daphne!" Shocked to see her and that he got caught, he jumped up and banged his knee on the table.

"How could you come down here? You broke your promise!" she questioned. Puzzled and hurt that Niles didn't listen to her.

He was in too much pain to fully explain. The pain in his knee spoke for him. "And my patella!"

She wasn't feeling too sympathetic and accused, "Well, nothing bad would have happened if you'd paid attention to my premonition!"

Niles countered with, "Well, actually, nothing bad would have happened if you hadn't shown up."

Daphne countered back. "Well, it wouldn't have not happened had I not shown up."

Not backing down, despite the throbbing pain, "Well, it wouldn't not have happened if you hadn't not shown up!"

Daphne offered her rebuttal and summation, "And I wouldn't have shown up had I not known that you wouldn't have been able to not come down here!

Valiant to the very end, he was losing steam and stammered, "Well I'm not...not...not...what?"

Satisfied she made her point, she smugly declared, "My point exactly! You don't listen."

Everyone around the table laughed.

"I wish I could have been there to see that." Martin said and continued, "I have a couple for you Daph. What made those special to me was Niles and his reactions. Both occurred when he was totally head over heels in love with you, and you had no idea Daph, so he had to cover those feelings that he just exposed before you could catch on to him."

"Keep in mind Daph, Niles feel hard for you the first day he met you, so, there are plenty of Niles incidents before and after the one I am going to share, but these just happen to be my favorites."

Daphne smiled and with pen in hand, "go on…"

"It was the time when Niles and I were building that damn three-masted schooner. And he kept reading all the directions from the very beginning and then you came in, remember Daph?"

"Oh, look at that! What a beautiful ship. I bet you'll have fun building that."

"Not as much fun as we're having reading about it," Martin grumbled.

"Did I ever mention one of my ancestors was a mutineer on the _H.M.S. Bounty__?"_

"No kidding," Martin commented.

"Yeah well, from what we could gather, he made it safely to Pitcairn Island, where he was quite fruitful and multiplied. For all I know there's some girl who looks exactly like me running around the South Seas, frolicking in the surf, all brown-skinned and bare-breasted-"

__

"Well, what you weren't aware of was Niles. He was in heaven. He was so caught up in whatever fantasy he was in that he snapped that damn mast into two pieces, sending them both flying over the table. I knew what he was thinking and I gave him that 'be careful look,' and to his credit, he quickly recovered." Martin continued with his story.

__

"_So you want to build a __two__-masted schooner?"_

Like they did after Roz finished her story, they all laughed.

"What's the other one?" Roz asked, sipping her coffee.

"Another classic Niles. It was around that time Frase was having those radio wars with…" Martin stopped to try and remember their names.

"Carlos and the Chicken?" Frasier supplied the missing link.

"Yeah, Carlos and the Chicken. And Frase wanted to get his revenge on them and we got to talking about "The Avengers", which was the boys favorite television show growing up…"

"You know, it's funny hearing you talk about "The Avengers." My first Halloween in America, I went to a party dressed as Mrs. Peel. Head-to-toe in that skintight black leather cat suit," Daphne chimed in.

Niles lifted his head in interest and started to fantasize about what Daphne must have looked like.

Totally oblivious to the near salivating Niles, Daphne continued, "Come to think of it, I still have it somewhere, and Halloween's coming up."

Eddie had entered the room and hopped into a kitchen chair, and had joined the group. Noticing Eddie, Martin commented, "Cat suit, huh? Better not let this guy hear you talking about that, he'll go nuts."

Niles instantly thought the comment was directed at him, "I would not!" He then _saw Eddie. Again, __and, like so many times in the past, he tried to cover. "Be surprised if he did! Ho-ho-ho."_

-------

"The fire's started and it's all warm and roaring," Frasier informed Daphne has she started down the last of the stairs.

"Thank you for building me one."

"Anytime Daph. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes."

Daphne went over to warm herself by the fire. When they all left Café Nervosa it was pouring out and Frasier offered to take her home and build her a fire and make her some dinner.

She looked at the pictures they had on the mantle and took down one of her favorites, and one that was always a conversation starter. She could only smile as the memory came rushing back to her.

__

"I have a little something for you," he announced and handed her a small jewelry box.

Typical Niles, he was always lavishing her with gifts for no reason.

She carefully cracked open the lid. "Ohh...Earrings. They're beautiful."

Since Maris never accepted any of the gifts he bought for her, he was always afraid that Daphne would be disappointed in his selection.

"Try them on" He encouraged. "I've disinfected them with peroxide."

She could only smile and think, 'that's my clean and germ a phobic Niles.' But when she looked at them more closely she quickly realized they were the exact replicas and oddly enough, the same pair she had inserted into her ear lobes earlier in the day.

"Niles," she started tactfully as not to make him feel badly. "It's a lovely thought, but you kind of gave me the exact same pair last summer."

"I did not."

"Yeah, take a look," she pulled back her hair to reveal the earrings.

He was clearly embarrassed and profusely apologized. "I am so sorry."

"Oh, don't be silly. It was bound to happen sometime, after all the nice presents you give me."

Later in the afternoon Niles had run into Roz at Café Nervosa and Roz shared her conversation with Niles to Daphne a few days later.

"Hey, Niles. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be out buying Daphne another pair of earrings?" she playfully teased.

"Oh...please, don't make me feel any worse."

"Actually, I thought it was sweet."

"Well, I feel just awful."

"You want to know what I would do?" Roz suggested.

Niles hesitated, considering the source of the suggestion, and then finally.

"Oh, what the hell?" he pulled out a chair and sat.

"First of all, enough with the earrings. Everything doesn't have to be so fancy. Don't get me wrong. Jewelry is terrific, but sometimes a woman likes to know that you're paying attention. Mix it up a little. Do something crazy--I mean totally out there."

She now had Niles interest peaked along with his undivided attention.

"Are you talking about scarves?" he inquired, enthusiastically.

Roz bit her lower lip has not to laugh at Nile's question.

"OK, let me give you an example. When I was 20, my boyfriend stole a

"Doyle's Pub" sign for me. We were drunk and we saw it, and he said

'Hey, that's your name on that sign. You should have it.' It was spontaneous,

and a little dangerous...and very romantic!"

She could tell that she had set the wheels in motion and that he was mulling over her suggestion.

"Spontaneous and dangerous..." he echoed as he continue to mull. "Thanks, Roz. You've given me something to mull over during my herbal wrap."

Niles, dressed in black from head to toe, including a trench coat, showed up unexpectedly at Frasier's later that same evening.

__

Niles had come over and clearly out of the blue, taking both Daphne and Martin by surprise, he had offered to walk Eddie. Daphne, of course invited herself to come along, which also to everyone's surprise, he declined her invite.

It would be well past midnight before she would hear his tale.

While out walking Eddie, he passed by a street lamp that contained the names of two street signs which read 'Maple Street 1700,' and, the other, 'Daphne Lane 200.'"

He pondered briefly before making his move. Once he committed, he glanced around nervously for witnesses. He then whistled his pre-arranged signal with Eddie, who lifted his leg and appeared to be doing his business on the lamp pole.

Niles whistled at Eddie again, and he lowered his leg. He gave Eddie a treat and walked with him to the hedge behind the sidewalk.

Somehow, Niles had managed to stash a folding stepladder behind the hedge and pulled it out. He unfolded it and steadied it next to the pole and directly under the Daphne Lane sign. He briefly thought about the daunting task that was in front of him, he was nearing the point of no return. With fierce determination, he flipped back his coat to reveal a tool belt, from which he grabbed the wrench. He was pumped and ready, he was going to do this.

He looked up at the sign and placed the wrench in his mouth and began to climb the ladder, but was interrupted by Eddie barking at something. He quickly climbed back down, and hurriedly stuck the ladder back behind the hedge, removed the wrench from his mouth, and moved Eddie back to the pole and whistled their code again.

__

Eddie then repeated the entire leg-lifting routine.

Repeating his moves from minutes earlier, but only quicker since he was now more nervous, he climbed the ladder and placed his hands on top of the 'Daphne Lane' sign. Very nervously, he began to use the wrench to undo the bolts attaching the sign to the pole. Uncoordinated, he quickly lost his balance. Now panic stricken, he struggled to regain his balance and inadvertently kicked the ladder away, so that it was no longer under his feet.

He was left hanging from the sign as Eddie barked repeatedly, trying to forewarn him of something or someone.

The "someone" in this case was a car who literally caught "Niles in the headlights" and shone it's headlights onto Niles suspended frame from the sign. The cars' sirens quickly identified the car as a police cruiser as he looked mortified into the lights, still tightly clutching and hanging from the sign.

Martin got the call from the station shortly after 11 that evening.

Much later that night, Niles showed up at Frasier's, still clothed in the black getup from what Daphne would learn a few minutes later, from his criminal escapade, with a gift in tow.

They went and sat on the couch so she could open it. He looked more nervous than usual as she started to unwrap it.

Noticing Daphne was in her pajamas and bathrobe, Niles apologized.

"Sorry. I know it's late….."

"Oh hush!" Her mouth dropped and she mouthed an "Oh…"

A loving expression formed on her face has she pulled a framed picture out of the box, and looked delighted as she continued to look at it. She stood the picture up on the coffee table.

Niles' uneasiness melted when it was clear that she was pleased with her gift.

She kissed him on the cheek and they embraced with Eddie aka his partner in crime, between them.

"Daphne, dinner's ready." Frasier called out to her and unknowingly interrupted her memory.

She kissed her fingers and laid them on the picture and set the framed picture of Niles' mug shots, one profile and one frontal, complete with the name plate, that were taken that night, back on the fireplace mantel and headed towards the kitchen.

To be continued…


	3. With You I'm Born Again

_With You I'm Born Again_

"Frasier. Over here," she called out and waved.

Frasier went over and sat down beside by his sister-in-law on the park bench.

"Thanks for meeting me."

"Anytime Daph. I'll always be here for you. You should know that. Though I must say, I was a bit surprised you asked me, instead of dad, to meet you here at the dog park, of all places."

"Frasier…." she started.

"I know what you're going to say, and no, I don't have a story of Niles for your memory book yet. I'm sorry, I just want to make sure I pick one that's exemplifies the man, the brother, he was."

"Frasier, that's not why I asked you here. I could have asked you that over the phone or at Café Nervosa."

There was something special about this place. Whatever Daphne wanted to discuss with him, she was obviously struggling with it. He mentally surmised.

Frasier put his arm around her shoulder. "It's okay Daphne. Take your time, I'm not going anywhere."

"There is something I've been struggling with since Niles di--..."

It had been almost six months and she still couldn't bring herself to say it.

_Niles ran by yet another version on how to broach the subject with Daphne to his faithful companion that was sharing the park bench with him._

"_How did you like that one?" he asked for a second opinion. _

_His companion just looked up at him and stared._

"_I'll take that as….oh! Never mind, here she comes." _

_Daphne sat next to Niles and Eddie on the bench. Niles took a deep breath and decided it was now or never. If he thought about it anymore he would lose his courage. _

"_Daphne….." he began._

"_I've been musing about you and me, and I have a thought. In every healthy relationship, I may ask for an occasional - very occasional - irrational demand." _

_She wasn't quite sure where this conversation came from or where it was going. _

"_What do you mean?" _

_Searching for the right words, he further explained, "a thing we insist the other do or not do, and the other one has to do it or not do it, without question."_

"_Is that fair?" she questioned._

"_It is. Because we each get one, and only one, for our whole relationship." He justified._

_She sensed there was something deeper to his request. Most likely it concerned his insecurity about not being good enough for her and that she would leave him. To save Niles' faltering self-confidence she would play along with him and would "agree" to his demand._

"_Well, if it's important to you," she said sincerely._

"_Then it's agreed?" He eagerly pounced, afraid if she had even a second more to think about it, she would back out._

"_Agreed."_

_A few short seconds passed before he proclaimed, "Good...oh, I've got mine!"_

_Okay, her guess that it was his insecurity that was at the root of all this was becoming more apparent. Again, to help him save face, she played along. _

"_Already?" she questioned, sounding surprised._

"_Yes. Uh, I want you to promise never to come to this dog park again." He demanded._

_My poor Niles, she thought, the silly sod was much more insecure than she thought. _

"_What?" she asked, as if confused at the demand placed upon her. _

"_I know it sounds extreme, even unreasonable - but that's the beauty of the irrational demand."_

_She thought long and hard before asking her next question. Should she just confront Niles about his insecurity? Using this quote, unquote, irrational demand to mask his insecurities wasn't doing him any good. He wasn't dealing with his real feelings. Instead he was in denial, something in which he excelled at. This elaborate act, all because he was so afraid of losing her when he shouldn't be. She would never leave him. She loved him more than anyone and anything. _

_She decided to confront indirectly, but not attack his "demand". _

"_Is this about Jim?"_

Not too surprising, Niles answered in his typical denial like state. "The, uh, demand cannot be scrutinized. It is, by definition, irrational."

"_And are you sure this is how you want to use your only one?"_

_Niles looked over at Jim before answering, reaffirming everything Daphne had thought in regards to Niles' insecurity issues. _

"_Absolutely. I've thought this through, a lot. Irrationally, of course." He continued on with his game._

_Out of her love for him, she again played along and agreed. "OK, if you're sure. I promise never to come to this dog park again." _

_After wishing Jim and Tank a fond bon voyage, she couldn't help but tease, _

"_I wonder how I'll use my irrational demand... oh, what's my rush? I've got years to think it over."_

By the time she had finished telling Frasier the story she was a mess. She was crying uncontrollably on Frasier's shoulder.

"Daphne? Am I to assume by these tears, that you never collected?"

She shook her head and sniffed. "But I have to tell you, there have been so many times since Niles di-…" Again, she couldn't say it, but continued, "that I wished I had…"

More softly, in barely a whisper, she confessed.

"You know Frasier, a couple of days before he left for Chicago, I had a vision."

"What sort of a vision?"

"I was telling him that I was cashing in on my irrational demand."

"Which was?" he carefully asked. Though he was pretty sure what her answer would be, she needed to let it out, all of it, no matter how painful.

She took a deep breath before answering and then finally,

"I-I asked him not to go to Chicago for the seminar. Oh Frasier…" she wailed and berated herself, "why didn't I follow me vision?" is all she could ask over and over as she wept.

Frasier again pulled her into a hug.

"Listen to me Daph. What happened to Niles was an accident. A terrible, horrible accident, but it wasn't your fault. It was that drunk driver who went through the red light. Alright?" He tried to reassure and comfort her.

"Come on Daph…" Frasier coached, as he wiped the perspiration from Daphne's forehead. "One more push."

Daphne let out a final, exhausted grunt and pushed with all her might.

The wails of a newborn filled the delivery room.

"Congratulations, Daphne…" Dr. Stewart smiled, "you have a baby girl."

Frasier gave her a kiss on her forehead. "Way to go Daph."

"Can I hold her?"

A nurse came over and Daphne stretched out her arms and enveloped her newborn.

Both she and Frasier were instantly taken aback. They both looked at each other, knowing exactly what the other was thinking.

At the same time, and remembering Niles fondly as they said it, "spooky".

"Is there something wrong?" the nurse asked.

"No, everything is fine. My sister-in-law and I are just stunned…she's a carbon copy of my little brother Niles…"

"That's your Daddy he's talking about," she told her minutes old daughter.

"Of course, she does have my receding hairline," he joked.

"And that would be your Uncle Frasier," she introduced.

She studied the new life she had brought into the world and was stunned. She was, like Frasier said, a 'carbon copy', a female Niles.

She shared most, if not all, her Father's most striking features, including his deep blue eyes that Daphne loved to stare into and could always find solace in. She even had his cleft chin.

She played with one of her daughters' fingers. "You have long fingers just like your Daddy. And someday, you'll play the piano just as wonderfully as your Daddy did. And the first song you'll ever play will be 'Daphne's Song.'"

She couldn't help but notice Frasier had gotten overly quiet and contemplative, something Niles did much more often then Frasier.

"Frasier? Is something wrong?"

"On the contrary, I have my Niles story for that journal you're writing."

Frasier sat down beside Daphne and his niece and started to share his story.

"_Frasier, I want you to know that all of my life I've dreamed of one thing, the day I could go into a library and go to the card catalogue and see my name under "mental illness". The day I could finally feel what you feel; that I'm somebody, not just one more dusty little psychiatrist…"_

Daphne was shocked at what she heard and interrupted. "Niles and his insecurity issues rear its ugly head once again."

"What do you mean?" Frasier was puzzled and was afraid that she was taking his story of Niles totally out of context.

"Once we had gotten married, I thought he put all those bloody issues to rest once and for all. I was mistaken. I mistakenly thought my love, our love that we shared, was enough for him and could erase all the insecurities away and would have been enough for him. But no, he still wanted more, celebrity. Apparently, I didn't know him as well as I had thought." She confessed and sounded hurt and disappointed.

"Daphne, you didn't let me finish my story. First off, let me say that when Niles confessed that to me, it was when he was still unhappily married to Maris. Do you recall that time when Niles, Dad and I assisted in delivering that cab driver's baby several years back?"

"Was that when Niles experimented the trials and tribulations of fatherhood by carrying that sack of flour around as his child?"

"Yes. He thought he wasn't ready. But later that same evening when he drove me to the hospital, I caught him looking longingly into the nursery window. It was then that the sad realization hit him. Maris would never have his children, something he wanted more than anything else.

When I called him on it, he of course denied it, dismissing it with the protest that 'he wasn't father material.' But I knew it was killing him inside. It took him a very long time to accept that realization---that he would never be a father."

"Oh Frasier, I never knew. Niles never shared any of this with me."

"It was especially painful for him every time he saw Dad and I together, or me and Frederick. It was another reminder of a bond that Dad and I shared that he couldn't share with us. It was very painful for him, and he struggled with it for some time."

"Anyway, once he resigned himself to it, he refocused and redirected all his energies into being remembered the only other way he knew how-which was professionally. So, if he couldn't be remembered personally, he could at least be remembered professionally."

Daphne felt a tear fall down her cheek.

"But tonight Daph, when you gave birth to his, to Dr. Niles Cranes' daughter, he was, in a way, born again and will now live on through her. So, Daphne, Niles got his wish after all, and he received it from the person he loved more than anyone."

"Thank you Frasier," she thanked as she continued to cry.

Their daughter's cries woke her and she went into the nursery and picked up their daughter. "Shh…mummy's here now." She cooed and rubbed her back. She went over to sit in the rocking chair and started to rock their daughter back to sleep.

As she rocked, she started to reflect on Frasier's story he shared on the night the baby was born. Frasier had commented to her that by giving birth to her and Niles' child, Daphne had made all Niles' dreams and wishes come true.

She smiled. It was the very least she could do. After all, he had always made sure all hers came true.

"_I want to marry you!" she told him._

"_I want to marry you!" he agreed._

"_No, I want to marry you NOW!" she stressed._

"_As in…. now?" he asked, taken aback._

"_Yes!"_

"_Why?" He questioned her. The silly sod almost sounded suspicious._

"_Why?" She echoed and then explained. "Because you'd do anything, even put up with my insane family, to make me happy. Because you'd travel halfway around the world to make my dreams come true, even the impossible ones. And because I can't spend one more minute without being your wife, Niles Crane. Because I adore you."_

"_But I thought you always wanted a big wedding." He countered._

_But her mind was made up. _

"_Do you want to make my dreams come true? This is my dream."_

_Niles looked deeply into her eyes and then took her hand. He grabbed his overcoat, and he led her out the front door closing it behind them._

Their daughter was almost asleep by the time Daphne had finished her story. Daphne reached over and gathered Niles' journal in her hand. She opened it up to the last entry Niles had ever written. He wrote it the night before his flight to Chicago. She wasn't strong enough to read it before, but tonight, she finally was, and read his very last words aloud.

A chill ran down her spine. For his last words were almost prophetic.

"_Life is always made up of wonderful things, and then you lose them. And part of what makes them wonderful is that they do go away. If you had them forever you wouldn't appreciate them as much." _

Quote from: David Hyde Pierce


End file.
